Stained Glass
by Teriyaki Teriyaki
Summary: Each spirit the Man in the Moon keeps upon this Earth has made a very specific sacrifice, each have sacrificed themselves for a child. In this way a new spirit is left to the Earth not yet guardian or minion of fear. OC story, hope you enjoy.
1. Chapter 1

Ch. 1 The Birth of a Muse

**Okay so quick thing in my head I believe that each guardian, or spirit, came about by dying while protecting some child in their past life and this is why Manny chooses them, so that if a new guardian is needed he'll have a pool of people who truly care for kids. On to the story now.**

Lucy looked around the room trying to find something to slow down the two men in ski masks trying to break down the door. She needed to keep Ann's kid safe. They had been counting the donations together and Ann had stepped out to get some takeout for dinner. Penny, the child in question had grabbed the money case and was looking at her with wide fearful eyes.

"Lulu!" she screeched as the door flew off it's hinges. Lucy shoved some donation boxes in the door's general direction and sprinted to grab the tot holding the case. She snatched her up, cradling her close while she quickly searched for an exit. Just as the men were recovering she spotted the way out, a large pane of glass missing from the church's stained windows, right at the angel's feet. It would only be big enough for Penny. There was no time to look for another way out as she heard the click of a gun. Lucy ran to the altar prying the child from her chest and shoving her through the window.

"Lulu!" she cried again clutching the case to her small body, she was trembling and the tears were falling fast from her eyes. "Penny, Penny look at me," Lucy called from the window as the men came closer, "Penny do you remember that place with all the nice people, the cops, the one we painted the big picture at with your mommy?" Penny nodded looking back behind her. She heard the men shoving the large altar candles away behind her, but there was no time to look back. "Penny you need to run there, don't stop for anyone, get up if you fall, just keep running until you get to the nice people," Penny started backing up slowly. The man seized Lucy's hair ripping her away from the window, "RUN!" She barely caught a glimpse of the tiny child racing away down the street before the man tearing out her hair slammed her to the ground. A million horrible thoughts of what they might do to her assaulted her mind as the she swung and kicked at the two men trying to restrain her. Then one stood up and turned the loaded gun on her. "Wait what are y-" His partner began as the shot rang out and everything went black.

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Light. A million different colors of light soaked her in their embrace. She sat up from the ground before the altar and gazed around her. The church was different, it was the same place, but it was coated in dust and birds sat in the rafters. The wooden pews were cracked and all the candle holders and finery was gone. All that remained was the stained glass windows above her and even that had missing panes from which a full moon shone through. She stood and walked to the window absently dusting the dirt from her dress, she paused and glanced down having sworn she was wearing pants earlier. Her eyes were met with a lovely fabric that looked identical to the glass before her, minus the images of angels, with a rainbow of beautiful colors.

"_Muse."_

A voice warmer and more loving than any she had heard before whispered into her ear. It was only one word but she knew it was her's, it was whispered in her ear but it came from the globe in the night sky. She was no longer Lucy or Lulu, she was Muse, whatever that would mean.

** So ends chapter 1! I'll ask you guys to be patient with me, because this will be my first fanfic with multiple chapters and I hope you will all enjoy it. Muse is an OC of mine that I dreamed up after the movie. I usually don't use OCs, because I personally find that most morph into Mary Sue's or get way too mushy with a LI, but Muse is a rare exception to this rule and I hope you'll like her.**


	2. Chapter 2

Ch. 2

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How much time had passed she wondered as she stepped out the doors of the church. There were only a few people busily walking past the church, in the early morning, not taking any notice of her as she stood at the top of the steps. Obviously a few hours at the most had passed and the two thieves had probably taken what they could from the church before trashing it. 'But what about Penny?' she wondered surely the little girl had made it to the police station by now, 'Maybe they didn't believe her and were holding her at the station, after all the money case she had with her was locked up tight they wouldn't know until they got it open that something bad had happened.' Then a flash of the gun pointed at her face flashed into her mind. The gun had gone off, that she remembered, but it must have missed her and she probably fainted from the fright. 'What about the voice, the name, your name?' a little voice in the back of her head nagged, 'the dress? Surely to robbers wouldn't take the time to put this dress on you.' She shook those thoughts from her mind, she had always had an active imagination she probably dreamed up the voice while trying to wake up, and took off towards the station, hiking up the dress to run faster. Penny was her main priority, she had to make sure the little girl had made it to safety before she pondered anything else. The sidewalk was chilled from the fall air and stung her bare feet, but not as badly as she would have imagined. It took a few blocks but she made it to the station with it's round globed lights serving as a beacon in the night. She raced up the steps and through the doors, their was an officer seated behind a desk typing up things on a computer and looking rather bored. "Excuse me," she said hurrying up to the desk, " I'm looking for a little girl, she's four years old with bright red hair, uh freckles a blue, no it was more of a violet, dress, and she's-" She stopped the officer was completely ignoring her. "Hey this isn't a joke she may be hurt," still no response."Look at me!" She yelled furious that the cop wouldn't even glance at her. She reached across the desk grabbing for the officer's arm, only to have her hand go right through her.

Pain, a sharp bone deep ache shot through her body, making her gasp a reel back from the desk. She stared in shock at the officer and then tried again, bracing herself for more pain, again her hand went straight through the woman without her even noticing. The pain still came, but it wasn't as bad as the first time. The doors behind her swung open once more and an elderly man walked right through her to get to the desk. The officer saw the man and immediately responded writing down his report of a break in to his shop. Muse tried to catch her breath as it came in short panicky gasps, backing into a wall. She turned and saw it was the same wall the Art Center had painted with the kids. It had happy pictures of cops and children hand in hand in beautiful utopia bursting with fauna. It had taken them a while to get it done, but the children had so much fun making it, even little Penny had added a scribbly flower at one end. She spotted the flower and next to it was a little golden plate. Stepping closer she read:

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_Dedicated in loving memory to Lucille Nest. Courageous to the end._

_You'll never be forgotten. _

_-The West Cambridge Center for Art and Child Care._

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She was dead. All she could do was stand there numb, for how long she didn't know, and stare at the plate. It was polished so brightly that she could see her reflection in it, even if no one else could. She was different, to say the least. Her loose brown hair was now long and bouncy with dark ringlets and her t-shirt and pants were replaced with a long empire waist gown that looked like thousands of stained glass shards pieced together, but flowed like silk across her skin. Other than that she was mostly unchanged, her cheeks a little rosier maybe, but her skin still light and her eyes still a rich brown, from what she could tell in the golden surface. 'So I'm a ghost...' she wondered, ' but if that's so how come I still feel pain?' she pondered this and a thousand more as she began to walk, she had no idea where she was going or if it should even matter as she made her way through the city. By the time she resurfaced from her thoughts she was walking by a playground and the sun shone high in the sky as children played upon the jungle gym. She slowed down running her hand along the wall as she watched the children play. She caught sight of a small girl with similar hair to Penny's. The little girl was so cheerful and was pretending to be a monkey, Oooing while hanging from a bar. Was she really so upset to die for something so sweet? No, she decided, even if it meant an eternity alone in the world she was glad to have saved her.

"Whoa! Look!" a little boy cried out pointing at her. For a brief moment a surge of hope flashed within her as she thought that he saw her, but as she turned to look next to her she realized what had really astounded the boy. From the tips of her fingers flowed a trail of brilliant colors twisting in a pattern like paint upon the wall from where she had first touched. The children stopped playing and came over to investigate the wall. She watched and chuckled as the kids debated amongst themselves what exactly the patterns were. One little boy thought it was the symbols of a lost race like in an adventure film he's watched, while another little girl claimed they were like those she'd seen on an Easter egg, and one particularly snide little boy claimed it was just "stupid graffiti." "Eh I think it's so-so," a much older voice said above her. She looked up and saw a young man in a blue hoodie with a mess of white hair hovering over her head while studying the trail of color. "You new then?" he asked looking right at her. She looked around then squeaked out, "You can see me?" "Yup, and that just confirms my suspicion, you are definitely new," he smirked before landing beside her. "Jack Frost," he said offering his hand to her. "Er Muse, I suppose," she replied shaking his hand. He studied her for a moment," It's not often we get new spirits, I think the last one was about 200 years ago."

"So I'm not a ghost?"

"Not exactly, look I'm really not the one to explain this stuff, I don't get it entirely myself."

"What do you-"

"It's just something we all kinda figure out ourselves."

She stared at him for a moment, running her fingers through her hair. This was... in word weird. Here she was dead, probably murdered, invisible to everyone and talking to some guy who flew around calling himself Jack Frost. She sat down on the ground covering her face, this was too much just too much. "Hey...," Jack kneeled down next to her trying to peer at her face, "look it'll be fine, I should know I've been here for about 300 years now." She looked at him like he was insane, 'so it would be eternity'. "Oh god," she moaned feeling tears beginning to well in her eyes.

"Whoa whoa whoa, don't cry!" Jack looked terrified at the thought of having to comfort a crying girl,

"Um let's see I know, um Bunny! He shouldn't be to busy this time of year" he cried.

"What?"

"Bunny, The Easter Bunny," Jack smiled looking set on something," he might be able to talk you through this everyone else it probably busy right now anyway. North will be preparing for Christmas and Sandy and Tooth will be busy with the East right now. Yeah Bunny is probably the best bet." Jack seemed to be talking more to himself now than her. She waved her hand before his eyes, forgetting her anxiety in the face of his odd behavior. He grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet. "He has a hole near here I think," he said smiling, "hold on tight." Before she could even reply he had launched them into the air, forcing her to cling to him for dear life, er unlife? Spirit life? He scanned the city streets below them before spotting what he was looking for and raced them back towards the ground, with Muse barely containing a scream of terror. She forced her eyes shut as the insane sprite she clung to sped towards a small flower poking out of hard cement.


	3. Chapter 3

Ch. 3

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"It's beautiful," she spoke aloud to herself staring down at the Warren. Jack had gone, after discovering that the Easter Bunny wasn't there he had decided to go and come back later, but had left her after seeing her infatuation with the world below. "Just tell him Jack brought you," he said before he left to a tunnel, "that should calm him down when he finds you, ...well maybe." Something told Muse that Jack and this Easter Bunny didn't get along too well, but that wasn't her problem. She felt something bumping against her leg and looked down to see a tiny little egg tapping her with a pair of little feet. "Oh how adorable!" she exclaimed bending down and letting the egg walk onto her palm. It was stark white and perfectly smooth, it would have been unremarkable if not for the tiny legs it stood upon. She sat down on the soft grass studying the little creature and deciding that she quite enjoyed this place that Jack had brought her to. It had a zen like quality to it with ancient looking carved stoned and fresh moss and flowers sprouting everywhere, the likes of which she had never seen. All around little eggs, some painted some not, roamed plunking into bushes or dipping into brightly colored pools, if Jack was to be believed and this was the realm of Easter then theses little guys were probably preparing themselves for their own holiday. The egg in her palm wiggled itself impatiently, forcing her attention back onto it, it almost seemed to be pointing her towards the pools of color. "Hm do you want to get painted?" she asked it with an amused smile. As a response it jumped excitedly. "Are you sure the little bunny won't be mad at me?" again it responded with an unreadable jump that she decided meant 'yes'. Alright then she said rising up and walking it to the edge of a pool, where it dived from her hand into the sparkling green waters. As it got itself thoroughly coated she tried to remember the last time she had painted Easter eggs, 'it must have been, maybe, ten or more years ago,' she thought as she fished the egg out of the pool. It was now a vibrant green with a golden sheen to it, as it dried on her palm she searched for something to paint a pattern onto it with. Finding nothing she recalled the trail of paint she had made along the wall, carefully barely grazing it's surface she began to draw out a pattern of intricate trees with eggs and rabbits hiding among them. She didn't even need to trace out the tiny images as they formed on their own underneath her fingers.

"What are you doing sheila?" a heavily accented voice growled near her ear, as something sharp and ridged circled her throat. She let the egg hop from her grasp as she slowly raised her hands and, with her voice slightly shaky, spoke, "J-Jack brought me here, he said the Easter Bunny might be able to explain something to me." The sharp object, a wooden boomerang as it turned out, was retracted and the presence behind her rose up. She slowly turned around and was met by a pelt of gray fur. "Its actually Bunnymund, but most everyone calls me Bunny," the mannish rabbit said offering her his hand, uh paw. He was a sight to see, at least over six feet with clearly human characteristics under his rabbit features, his coat was a shiny gray with black tribal markings and a leather harness held a collection of eggs and boomerangs with matching arm braces. He stood like a man, but upon rabbit legs and large paws, however his arms were clearly human in appearance. His upper paw which he offered to her was elongated giving it the appearance of fingers. She accepted it and rose up to stand before him. "I'm sorry for intruding," she apologized looking away so as not to be rude, "I'm uh new, I just met Jack about an hour ago he said he couldn't explain some things to me that you or the others, I guess, might be able to." He looked a little taken aback by her apology, "Oh I just didn't know ya is all, no harm done, I think," he said scooping up and inspecting the egg she had painted. "Huh, good as gold ain't it?" he said looking back at her, "How long did this take you?" Ignoring the fact that she was discussing painted eggs with a giant man rabbit she replied, "it doesn't exactly take me long, it's a new talent you could say..."

"Lemme guess you picked it up after the crossing?"

"Crossing?"

"Uh after you became this."

"After I was murdered you mean?"

Bunny looked at her in horror, "You were murdered?" She just nodded, not knowing what else to say. "That's awful, I don- I'm sorry." he gazed at her with pity. "Don't be, it was quick, I barely remember it, I don't think I felt any pain though..." He shook his head, "sorry I don't mean to pry...it's just most of us go without help." Things remained silent for a while, they sat by the pool dipping eggs and painting them, Bunny with a brush from his harness and her with the strange magic that blossomed from her fingertips. For some reason an unspoken line seemed to have been crossed by Bunny, and though she wanted to ask a million questions she felt it would be better if she allowed him to speak first. She held no animosity towards him, but he seemed to be uncomfortable with how the conversation had begun. "So it's a bit like Sandy eh." he said watching the colors pour from her hands. "I guess," she looked back up at him, not quite sure who he was referring to, "So um how is it I'm here exactly," she asked gesturing to herself.

"The Man in the Moon, he brought us all over to this plane."

"Is he a god or something?"

"No, I don't think so, he has power yes but he is a spirit like you. How do I put this." he paused for a minute before continuing.

"There a guardians and there are spirits, no one is really more powerful than the other, with the exception of Manny that is, the guardians are chosen to protect certain aspects of childhood that will influence the rest of their lives such as wonder of the world, memories of joy, dreams of wishes, and hope of new beginning, fun, etc. The guardians thrive off of being believed in we need it to protect children the world over and without it we are nothing. Spirits like you don't need to be believed in to exist, you're as powerful as your brought into this realm to be."

"Why are we brought here though?"

"Manny brings you, usually it's for whatever you do before you go, I guess he feels you deserve a chance to stay with the world and make it a more interesting place."

"Is that it?!" she hadn't meant to raise her voice, but she couldn't help but be emotional, here she was dead with only a imp, a bunny, and the moon to talk to. Why wasn't she resting peacefully for eternity was was she forced to stay upon the Earth without any real purpose. She stood up quickly knocking off a few eggs that had settled on her lap.

"Oy relax," he cried snatching the fallen eggs out of her way, "Manny has his reason for everything you'll figure it out eventually."

"How do I get out of here," she snapped, suddenly the place had lost its zen and she wanted out as fast as she could. "Breathe alright," he said grabbing her by her shoulders, "come on we'll getcha out." Her thoughts were a mess, earlier she was numb, but now the full force of all that had happened was hitting her and she was ready to break. Bunny led her from the tunnels as fast as he could at one point half carrying her to move faster. Somehow though they made it to a frozen lake above the ground and he stood next to her uncertain of what to do next. "Please, I need to be alone," she muttered. He hesitated a moment, "If you ever need a place to go just look for one of my holes, they're everywhere, also be careful around here-" "Please go!" she repeated, and with a tap of his foot he was gone.

She broke, tears came fast and heavy, her nose clogged up and she let every thought she had good and bad run rampant until she fell asleep curled in a little ball of misery in the snow.


	4. Chapter 4

Ch.4 - A problem

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Sleep didn't come, she guessed it wouldn't now that she was a spirit, hunger and thirst also didn't seem to bother her despite the hours past. She had cried herself dry however and was beginning to regret sending Bunnymund away. Muse was alone even if there were other beings in this realm they were obviously few and far apart. Although Bunny and Jack seemed friendly and helpful she couldn't exactly call them friends, and she only half-knew where to find one of them. She stood and pondered whether to try and reenter the Warren or to just explore the area around her. A sign on the far side of the lake proclaimed it simply _Burgess Lake_. Exploring would be the best bet she decided since the last talk with Bunny hadn't ended so well, and frankly she was too embarrassed to speak with him again. Out into the surrounding woods she ventured, taking her time and admiring the effects of the bare trees against the setting sun. Soon the moon began to overtake the sun and she came to clearing of rocks, at the edge of which she paused. Something was off about the place she thought trying to place a finger on it. She stepped closer into the clearing searching for whatever was throwing off what would be a scenic display. It was then she felt a familiar nudge, glancing down she spotted one of Bunny's blank eggs near her ankle.

"Hello there," she smiled gently picking up the little thing as it kicked its tiny feet. It must have followed her and Bunny up through the hole.

"You really shouldn't be up here, it's not anywhere near Easter nor are you painted."

It just squirmed in her hands, anxiously even. Something was definitely off about this place she thought feeling a sense of dread crawling up her neck. She would have left right that instant if she hadn't heard the moan.

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"Aw come on Phil, I'm a guardian now too, everyone else gets to come in when they feel like it," Jack whined at the Yeti standing before one of the doors into North's castle.

"Grrragh gana haugh!" the Yeti snapped back angrily gesturing to the door behind him then back at Jack and crossing his arm in a firm 'no!'.

"Phil, my Yeti," Jack began, hovering up so as to throw an arm around the yeti's shoulder, "We've been civil for a while now and- HA!" he froze Phil's arms to his side and dodged as the yeti attempted to tackle him, only succeeding in falling face first into the snow.

"Should've done that years ago," Jack smiled and opened the door to the castle. "Grumph," went the frozen yeti, making Jack stop. A year ago he would've left Phil to lay in the snow for however long he was in there, but now... Jack grabbed one of the yeti's feet and struggled to pull him into the warmth of the castle. Phil turned his head and looked questioningly up at the impish guardian.

"Don't look at me like that, you'll thaw," and with that Jack zipped off into the workshop ahead. The elves seemed ecstatic to see Jack floating around the shop, while the other yetis glared at him for interrupting their work. Eventually he made it to the door he was searching for and knocked.

"North?"

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"Hello?" Muse called out to the darkening clearing, holding the egg tight she inched forward following the cries to the center of the clearing. The voice sounded was deep and truly in agony, but oddly muffled. The moan grew in volume until she pinpointed it at a soft circle of dirt.

"Oh no, Jack?! Bunny?!" She lunged forward, setting the egg down, and began frantically digging at the hole. One of tunnels must have caved in and someone, even if it was Jack or Bunny, was trapped under the cold, hard dirt. The egg kept bumping her ankle, but she had no time to fret with it now. A sharp crack ripped the air and the ground gave beneath her, sending her tumbling down into darkness. She landed sharply upon a ledge and began bouncing down a flight of hard, stone stairs and skidding to a stop with her legs dangling over an abyss.

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"A new spirit eh?" North spun away from his desk, ice doll in one hand cookie in the other.

"Yeah, it's weird right," Jack replied from his perch on the windowsill, "we haven't had one in over a hundred years."

"True, but Manny must have reason, yes?" He stared out the window past Jack, "speaking of which."

Jack turned and saw the moon rising high into the sky, smiling he asked, "you really think he'll have anything to say about her?"

"I doesn't matter much one way or another does it?

"Meh."

Jack jumped down from the sill and followed North out to the front of the Globe as the ceiling above began to open for the sky.

"Manny, old friend what is-" North stopped dead staring at images rapidly flashing across the floor from the moon's light. Pitch, Muse, caves, stone, and a barrage of unrecognizable shapes filled the floor.

"What's going on?" Jack asked, he had never spoken with the Man in the Moon since his rebirth and wasn't quite sure what was going on, it kind of reminded him of Sandy except something about the normally calm and mystical moon doing it terrified him. North began rummaging in his giant coat and pulled out two snow globes, which he pitched to Jack.

"One to get Teeth, one to get to Pitch's hole."

"Wait! What's going on?!

"No time! Go!" North set off for his sleigh leaving Jack to himself. Something was going horribly and there was no time to ask questions, with one last glance towards the shadows on the floor Jack tossed the globe and entered the Tooth Palace.


	5. Chapter 5

**Why does no one ever listen to the adorable little creatures warning them against doom? **

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Muse slowly pulled her legs back from the crumbly edge of the steps, sore and more than a little bruised. She had fallen into what appeared to be an ancient ruin of some sort, the stairs continued down a ways and into a tunnel that continued on into darkness. Looking up she could see the hole far above from which she had fallen. There was no way that she could see back up to it, she couldn't fly like Jack and she didn't have anything to throw up to the ledge. If she had any indication that the hole went this far down she might have prepared for it better. She then recalled the egg and searched the ground for it, but it was gone no shell or anything.

'It might have avoided falling in with me,' she thought to herself, '_or it mind have fallen over the edge into the infinity alone.'_ She shook her head at the image of the little egg falling and cracking alone in dark, never to be painted or hidden for children find and exclaim over.

That was a depressing thought, '_but you're the same now,' _the nagging voice in her head whispered, _'you're alone and trapped in the darkness too, with who knows what.'_

Something brushed against her shoulder, causing her to jump and look about, but she was alone with only the darkness for company.

"Hello? Is someone here?" she called down to the tunnel, "I heard you. Please I'm only here to help."

A sob resounded from the tunnel, much clearer than it had been upon the surface.

"I'm coming! Just hold on!" she called back leaping down the steps two at a time. The chill of fear was creeping into her heart but she had to ignore it for the sake of whoever was down the tunnel.

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"Jack!" Tooth flitted up and squeezed him tight, "This is such a surprise, I thought you wouldn't be by until Wednesday, I'm still really busy an-"

"Tooth, I'm not here for that," he smiled apologetically, he and Tooth had been trying to...visit regularly. You couldn't call what the two had a "relationship" just yet, Tooth was always busy and barely able to make time for Jack. Really they shouldn't have been compatible with Tooth being all work and Jack being all play, but they were slowly growing closer and making what they had work.

"Something bad is happening, the Man in the Moon said...well something to North and I needed to collect you, I think he's getting Sandy and Bunny now, but we have to go now." He took her hand and dug out the second globe from his sweatshirt.

"Is it Pitch?"

"Probably, but something is really off," he tossed the globe and together they flew through the portal and out onto his lake.

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Muse reached the end of the tunnel, before her was what seemed to be a half-open door of some sort, with just enough room to squeeze through. As she inched through her dress snagged against something which seemed to tug back, frightened she yanked at her tearing it away only to see the fabric tear against the root that was holding it. Rather than flutter to the ground however, the fabric crashed and broke just like any glass would. She flinched at the sound, scrunching closed her eyes and preparing for something to jump out at her...but nothing happened. The sob rang out again from behind her. Slowly, still afraid something bad would appear before her, she opened her eyes and stared out onto the space before her. The area looked reminiscent of ancient Greek ruins, with a collection of stone steps, bridges, and walls with various inky pictures upon them. Crude iron cages dangled from the ceiling all around. There seemed to be light coming from somewhere but it was harsh and only helped in amplifying the shadows around her. Then something galloped across the far end of the room.

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Bunny was back in the Warren studying the eggs that Muse had painted, the detailing of the trees and rabbit fur was almost impossibly tiny and would be difficult for him to replicate, if he so wished to. He had to admit he was a little envious of that particular talent of hers, it would come in handy during crunch time for the holidays, but she didn't seem too have much outside of it. She couldn't run nearly as fast as any of the guardians and Bunny had to carry her out the top of the hole when they left the Warren. Maybe he shouldn't have left her, she was probably feeling alone in the world, lost, and she had been murdered to top it all off. He sighed, death was never a good thing, but murder, that was just crook. His thoughts were interrupted by North's rickety sleigh tearing through his Warren knocking over a few vine trees in the process.

"Oy what are you doing, you old date?!" Bunny bounded over to the sleigh not at all pleased by this surprise visit. North seized him by his harness and hauled him into sleigh without any hesitance.

"Crikey, wha-"

"Pitch." it was the only explanation needed to shut Bunny up. He gripped the wood tight and glanced over at Sandy, who seemed grim in comparison to his usual cheery self.

"Wonderful..."

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**I started this chapter with a lot in mind, but I ended up hitting a wall part way through, so this is all for today. Sorry :(**


	6. Chapter 6

Ch.6

**So I found my inspiration in the form of the movie's art book, amazingly my library got it in a few days ago. The book reveals so many amazing things about the design process for the film and some new facts about the characters. I'm loving it and it's pushing this story along quite nicely.**

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Muse didn't call out again, though the sobbing grew louder punctuated by gasps of pain, something was in here with her and whoever was crying. It had probably injured the person too, with the threat of that it would only complicate her rescue attempt.

Then a horrifying thought struck her, 'what if she couldn't help this person? What if I just went through them like the officer at the station?'

Whoever it was wasn't answering her, they might not even be able to hear her. She paused mulling it over for a moment, she still had to do something to help, maybe she'd be able to find another exit other than the hole. First she had to check on the person, make sure that she couldn't physically help them before going for help. She set forth carefully navigating the twisting stairs and bridges, trying to locate the source of the sobs. As the sobs became clearer, and she grew closer to the source, the shadows seemed to reach out towards her and she found herself swatting at her arms and legs feeling as though something was tapping at her.

_'You're lost, you'll never get out,'_ a voice nagged at her mind.

She picked up speed as she heard the galloping noise, but she couldn't see anything moving, shadows danced around her tricking her eyes and making her stumble, the clopping grew louder and seemed to be coming from all sides, she thought she saw a creature dart before her, she ran around a corner and...silence. She stepped out onto a platform in one of the odd light rays, at it's center in the shadow of a large stone was the source of the sobbing, a man, curled in on himself, except he wasn't crying anymore, he was silent.

_'You were too late,'_ the voice nagged again, _'you let this man die.'_

She felt as though she had been plunged into ice, fear gripped her heart as she numbly walked towards the body. She thumped down next to the man and loosely shook him, she knew he must be dead and she was trapped here with whatever had killed him and she would die here for a second time, alone again and probably in more pain, then he let out a moan. She just looked at him for a moment without a thought and then realized he was alive and she could touch him.

"Can you here me?" she said, but it came out as a whisper.

He jerked his head in a nod, "so scared..." he muttered.

"It's alright I'm scared too," she tried smiling to reassure him but was still too numb to quite manage it.

"Lovely," the man purred and seized her by the wrist. Suddenly, from the shadows around them, limped five dark horses with bright golden eyes. Fear distorted her mind until the shadows grew larger and seemed to warp before her eyes.

"Well that is new..." the man who held her wrist in a iron grip studied the creatures surrounding them, he had risen up from the ground dragging her with him, but making practically no movement. Muse might have thought this elegant if it was not so terrifying.. He looked as though he recognized the beasts, but was running his free hand over the thing's neck.

"Did you do this?" he asked looking back at her.

If he hadn't been holding her wrist she might have been on the ground, her knees were shaking so violently beneath her. She could only shake her head in confusion, not knowing what he meant about the thing.

"My nightmares," he snapped, " this here," he said pointing at it's sharp mane, "and their size..."

Muse couldn't comprehend what he meant, the creatures appeared to be growing more terrifying the more she looked at them and only more emerged from the darkness. They stared at her with sharp golden eyes that held far more intelligence than any normal animal, gnashing their teeth at her and seemed to be barely holding back from trampling the two. No, she realized, not them, just her. Whoever this man was, crushing her wrist, he had some hold over the beasts.

"You," he stared at her, some sort of realization dawning across his face, "your fear..."

He jerked his hand away from her as something zoomed between them. Muse stumbled back falling back onto the ground as someone charged past her and into the thick of the creatures. She barely registered the person's tremendous red coat and height, before someone was lifting her onto her feet. It was another woman, insanely beautiful and covered in blue-green feathers with glistening wings flapping away behind her. She was trying to say something to her but Muse spotted one of the creatures charging at them from behind the woman's back and pulled her out of the way. Ice swept over the beasts and and a boomerang tore through their ranks turning them to mounds of black sand. She spotted Bunny and Jack fighting alongside a short man of gold conjured whips that broke apart the creatures. The beasts were falling quickly, but all she could imagine was the sand at her feet rising up and taking form again and to her increasing horror it did.

Laughter tore through the air and she looked up to see the man surveying the scene below. Where she had thought that he had been hidden in shadow earlier, she now realized that he was in fact clothed in them with skin and hair too match.

"They're reshaping," Jack yelled to the others in astonishment.

"How?" the woman called back.

The man of the shadows just laughed harder as they struggled to fight off the now growing crowd of beasts, "Oh such a wonderful imagination!" he cackled looking down to her. The woman next to her followed his gaze realizing something.

"Jack, crowd control! North, globe now!" she commanded seizing Muse and lifting her into the air.

The men followed her instructions in perfect unison, with Jack sending a wave of ice out over the flock and the man, North, tossing a glass sphere that ended it a vortex in the air. All of the guardians and Muse retreated through it and into a warm room.

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**Wow long chapter, for me anyway. So quick thing cause I'm sure a few of you are confused by what is different with the nightmares. Since Muse has never seen them before she has no idea what they are supposed to look like, but basically they have grown in size and their bodies are a little pointier. This is courtesy of some concept art I liked of them. **


	7. Chapter 7

Ch.7

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**This art book...so amazing. It makes me a little sad to see so many unrealized ideas in it, but that doesn't mean they can't still be used. ;)**

**Oh and that egg is gone if anyone was curious. Fatality count: 1**

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They were in a room of golden sand, styled like a a boat cabin she'd seen in a pirate movie once. Everyone except Muse was standing, as soon as they made it through the portal she had just plopped down upon the ground and was trying to collect her emotions. She was in a room made of sand with five people she had only thought of as myths for years.

"Ey you need a hand," Bunny broke the silence offering her his paw.

"Um, can I just sit here for a moment," she gave him a apologetic grin, because she didn't think her legs could support her just yet, "what just happened, exactly?

The man called North, who she could instantly tell now that she saw his face was Santa Claus, stepped forward.

"That was Pitch, Pitch Black, or as you know him ze Boogeyman."

"That would explain some things, but the horses?"

"Nightmares," Jack chimed in, "they're these warped versions of Sandy's dreams," he gestured to the little golden man, who looked born of the same material as the room they were in, the Sandman.

"They thrive on fear," the other woman added fluttering beside Jack, "but I don't think we've ever seen them regrow like that."

"Yeah, about that," Jack said turning to Sandy, "Do you know how he pulled that off?"

Sandy pondered it for a moment, before looking up at Muse, in an almost guilty manner.

"So I'm right," the woman gasped while everyone else looked just as confused as Muse.

"Right about what, Tooth?" Bunny asked.

So she was the Tooth Fairy, 'weird she'd have feathers,' Muse thought.

"Her- um..." the fairy looked quizzically at her.

"Muse," Bunny added helpfully.

"Muse was terrified, weren't you?"

She nodded, not seeing what this had to do with anything.

"Somehow her fear managed to fuel the nightmares and twist them somehow, I'm not quite sure the full details of how she could do it..." Tooth thought for a minute, "What can you do? Magically speaking, that is."

"She can create images, like paintings in and stuff on walls," Jack piped up before Muse could answer, "I saw her making them for some kids when we first met."

"She did the same thing with my eggs."

That didn't seem to help Tooth come to any conclusions, but North seemed to be catching up.

"What were your thoughts when the nightmares were attacking?" he asked kneeling next to her.

"I don't, um...I just...they were horrible, all I could think of was how much worse they could get."

"And you imagined them getting worse?"

She thought for a minute and realized that yes she had been imagining the creatures reforming before they had done it. She had thought it was a coincidence but...

"Did I cause them to change?"

"That's the theory, somehow your gift must have effected them."

"Will it be permanent?"

"It is too soon to tell, but hopefully it won't be."

"These nightmares are the same type of bad dreams children have right?"

North nodded.

"So they'll go after children and I've made them more powerful."

She felt ashamed to have actually made the nightmares worse than what they were, she had made a bad situation worse apparently.

Finally she picked herself up off the floor with a new since of determination, "I'll help make it right then."

The five guardians fell silent for a moment, then Jack, looking a little apologetic, came before her.

"That is probably not the best idea."

"I need to help, though, I caused this! I need to fix it."

"That is the problem, you caused this. I'm not trying to accuse you or make you feel bad about this, but you don't have control over your fear or your imagination. You also don't look like much of a fighter. If we took you with us you might make the situation, um...well bad."

Muse looked at each of the guardians, all of them appeared to be in agreement and she felt the color rising to her cheeks.

"What if I get it under control and learn to fight, then can I help?"

Tooth took a turn to answer, "there isn't even a guarantee we'll need any help, they may just go back to there normal selves and we'll be able to defeat them easily."

"But..." Muse looked for some ally out of the five, but Jack and North adverted their eyes, while Sandy and Tooth looked sympathetic, but unyielding. Her eyes then met Bunny's, he stared back at her seeming to have some internal debate, before he came to stand beside her.

He turned to the other four and said, "If this isn't reversible we'll need help, and she might be the only person who can change the nightmares back if that is the case. I'll help prepare her for Pitch if we do need her. It's just a precaution, so it shouldn't be a problem. Agreed?"

Sandy nodded cheerily and the rest of the guardians followed suit, it was only a precaution after all, they wouldn't have to rely on her unless it was really necessary and by then she might be trained.

"So..." Jack began, looking around the room and swinging his staff, "where exactly are we North?"

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**A lot of questions y'all know the answers to, but it is kind of necessary to the character so my apologies.**


	8. Chapter 8

Ch.8

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**I'm so grateful to all of you for the reviews and favs I've been getting, I usually don't get that many views for my fanfics so wow thank you! Sorry for holding you up, on to the chapter.**

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'The Sandman has a giant, flying ship!' Muse may have helped run an art center, but never in her wildest dreams could she have thought a flying ship of gold sand, shaped like a whale with wings of amber glass, would belong to the Sandman. Which was a little ironic when she thought about it, considering all her dreams must have come from Sandy. They had decided to rest in the moment of peace, before Bunny trained her. So Muse and Jack, who it turned out hadn't seen the ship before either, were scouring the entire thing, climbing up and down the levels, racing across the deck, and gazing out at the sea of clouds around them, while North kept a watchful eye on their games and Tooth held conference with a collection of smaller fairies coming and going with reports. It was fun, which made sense since that is what Jack guarded, but she felt almost like a kid again as they played. Even Sandy joined them in a game of tag using his weightlessness to stay out of her reach. Sadly, the games came to end, as soon they were exhausted. Bunny tapped her on the shoulder, signaling it was time to leave, they said their farewells to everyone. She shook hands with Sandy and Jack, but was surprised by Tooth giving her hug. North apparently took that as a challenge and crushed her in a giant bear hug. Although she wasn't able to breath that well, she was his hug made her happy. He reminded her of her grandfather, who had died when she was younger, she had always viewed him as her father figure with the near constant absence of her father. They had to leave though, and prepare her for whatever was to come. He threw a globe for them and the pair exited back into the Warren.

"So what will you be teaching me?" Muse asked turning to Bunny.

"Tai chi."

"That yoga thing?"

"It's a martial art," he sniffed, "and it will help you remain calm in the face of danger."

'Sounds relaxing,' she thought.

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"You're moving too bloody fast!" Bunny snapped.

"You're not explaining it well enough, what do you mean flow with the wave?! There isn't any waves, we're in a still pond!"

"Crikey, you can use that imagination any other time but oh now that you need it!"

"This is useless."

Tai chi was not relaxing. Bunny was talking all pompously about moving with the to the beat of the world, and it really wasn't clicking with her. They had been at it for an hour, and had begun bickering after about thirty minutes. They were standing waist deep in one of the non dyed ponds and Bunny was trying to take her through the basic steps, all of which had ridiculous names like "parting the wild horses mane" or "repulse monkey". Bunny became annoyed when she started sniggering at the names and everything had gone downhill from there.

"Stop! Just stop!" Bunny sighed and rubbed the base of his ears for a minute before moving. He waded up behind her and seized both her wrists in his paws.

"What are you-"

"Just let your arms go limp," he muttered, "just move with me."

He slowly leaned her from side to side moving her arms through different motions, he lightly tapped her heels when he wanted her to move her legs. The warren was silent now, since she wasn't splashing through the water, but flowing with it. She realized what Bunny was getting at as she glanced down at the water, there were waves, she was making them in the water as she moved. He kept repeating three different motions and moving her gently through them, this went on for a while, both in silence concentrating on the world around them. She could hear everything, from the distant patter of egg feet to Bunnymund's steady heartbeat by her head. At some point she realized he let her go and she was moving through the motions herself. She felt something thump into her hand, jerking her back into consciousness. She looked down and saw Bunny's boomerang in her hand, she looked back up at him confused.

"You caught it," he smirked, "still think it's useless?"

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**Going all Karate Kid up in here. Actually this is inspired by some of the mythology from the ROTG app (yes there is one and it is free) I got the other day, according to it Bunnymund is a master of tai chi, which works well here. Short chapter, but worry not more will come.  
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**Edit: Oh wow, I'm so sorry so many mistakes, I even left an entire word unfinished, it's fixed now.  
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	9. Chapter 9

Ch. 9

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**I found out Pitch's back story, and wow that is depressing, it inspired the first part of this chapter and everything kind of branched out from there. **

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Mother Nature sat upon her throne near the sun adding weights from her side to the various scales around her, keeping the balance of the weather everywhere. A storm in Winchester to avoid a hurricane in the Bahamas, a drought in Texas to give rain in Aswan, and so on. This was her task, and a constant one, she couldn't neglect it for a minute without the risk of something tipping the balance. Sometimes the wights had to drop far and create tragedies, but it was always to avoid something far worse. Her hands were in constant motion, but she never hated the job, she was doing what her father had always done before he left her, she was keeping the world safe from any harm.

"Hello sweetheart," a familiar voice cooed from a corner, making her frown. She knew the voice well and once she would've been glad to hear it, but those times were gone.

Without looking up she replied, "you should go, this is no place for you."

"But Ineed a little help with something!"

"You won't find it here, this is above you and you have no right to meddle here."

"No right? Are you not right enough?"

She still did not meet his eyes, his eyes were the one thing that hadn't changed and the one thing she couldn't bare to see but wanted so desperately to.

"I'm just going to do this real quick, you'll be able to sort it out later he said snatching away a heavy weight and dropping it upon a scale. The scale dipped deeply before she could snatch it back off. Time flowed differently here and the damage was already done.

"I hate you." she spat, wishing she could mean it, wishing she could hit and slash and rip at him, but she never moved from her place still shifting the weights from the scales. He moved so she had to look him in his golden eyes.

Crouching before her, like her had done so many times long ago, he brushed a lock of hair from her face and smiled a warm smile, that didn't fit his shadowy appearance.

"I love you," He whispered and kissed her forehead, then he was gone.

The tears poured from her eyes, but never did her hands stop moving.

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Jack looked out over the devastation before him, flying high above and trying his best not to touch anything, it was already the dead of winter and his touch might kill someone in these circumstances. He had never gone to a disaster before now, he hadn't been a guardian so why should he bother with getting depressed. Where there had been houses was nothing but twisted metals, planks of wood, bits of stone, and remnants of entire lifetimes. Torn and muddy pictures, broken toys, and shattered glass, were everywhere. A pack of dogs, everything from a Pomeranian to a large mutt, wandered by glancing up at Jack before continuing on. They had no reason to stop for him, he couldn't help them and their owners were gone, either fled of dead. A few people wandered what remained of the streets, some desperately digging through the rubbish, ignoring the cuts they sustained, trying to find something of what their life was supposed to be, others sat numbly staring at the ruins of their homes and lives. A group of men in uniform went from house to house, stepping inside for a few minutes before continuing on, they spray painted different colored "Xs" upon the walls of the buildings and writing in three of the quadrants and on a rare occasions the fourth. A family argued in the middle of the street, an elderly woman had hit her head and the mother and children wanted to go to hospital, but the man was screaming just screaming in the street, a anguished screech of a lost man in hell, after constant pleading from the children and curses from the mother he tossed a ring of keys and the family left, the youngest child begged him to go with them, but he ignored her and after trying to drag him after the rest she gave up and left. Jack felt sick, he wanted to fly away from it all and never look back, but he had to see this and he had to report it back to the others, Pitch would be here soon, he felt it at his core, and they needed to be ready to intercept them before he could kill anymore hope here.

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"Wow look at that," Muse pointed up at the sky peaking out between the rocks and trees of the Warren, "are those northern lights? Where is this place anyway?"

"Uh, hidden in the outback, but that is a special light, North is calling all of us."

"So something is wrong. Is it Pitch?"

"Maybe, look I'll be back soon just stay here for now and keep practicing, I'll be back as soon as I can."

"If I can help will you come back for me?"

"If it involves Pitch, then no, you aren't ready."

"But-"

"No, I'll see you later," and with that he was gone, down one of his many holes.

Muse was left alone in the Warren to wonder what was going on.

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**This chapter really did a number on me, I'm posting it so late today, cause I wanted to get the feeling right. Like Joyce my family lived in Louisiana and we went through Katrina as well, we've since moved away. The spray paint Xs was how they determined the structures safety, the bottom quadrant, or as I say above the fourth, was meant to tell the number of bodies discovered. The bit with the family in the street is true. The part with the disaster is short, cause really it shouldn't be drawn out, there is nothing glorious about that part of destruction, heroes will eventually come, but even they mourn before they act.**


	10. Chapter 10

Ch. 10

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**Sorry, I will be updating, but I might only post one or two more chapters this week. I have finals coming up next week and sadly that is a priority, but I'll make it up to ya'll next week :) On to the story.**

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Muse wouldn't have been so easy to shake, or at least that's how she saw it, if it were not for Bunny's incredible speed . She tried following him after he bounded off into one of his tunnels, but she barely caught sight of his gray fur before he was gone. She could try each of the holes, but she didn't know where any led much less how she'd get back into the Warren if she left one. Something was up with Pitch again, there was no doubt there, but she didn't like being left behind to worry for him until he came back.

'Them,' she firmly corrected herself, 'I'm worried for all of them, even if they don't die per say they can get hurt.'

She stared wistfully down the tunnel wishing she was a braver person, the kind who would charge after them and pop out of every hole until she found the right one and helped in some way, but she wasn't. She could grow stronger and calmer, but the fear would still be there wouldn't it and as long as it was there Pitch had means to use her against her new found friends.

"Are you not going with?" a darkly familiar voice said from nearby.

Muse whirled to find Pitch standing in the scarce shade of a tree nearby, A few bright rays of light shone upon him through the canopy above and he was oddly translucent in proper daylight as opposed to the mysterious light of his cavern.

"Pitch," she said meaning it to sound tough and cool, but it came out as more of a dumbfounded mutter.

"Yes, my apologies for the lack of a proper introduction earlier, but my pets," he said stroking the sharp mane of a Nightmare that trotted out of the shade nearby, "needed a little nourishment."

Muse forced her eyes shut refusing to look at the creepy pair, if she didn't see them she had no base to use to morph them into new horrors.

"...And you are doing...?" Pitch spoke, amused by her attempt to shut him out.

"I'm doing what I can," Muse spat, still refusing to open her eyes, but feeling increasingly stupid for not doing so.

'How did he even get in?!' she frantically thought, 'Bunny had giant stone sentinels stationed all around the Warren, how had Pitch managed to get past them? Why was he even here, weren't the guardians supposed to be fighting him at the moment?'

Still not opening her eyes she spoke, "Why are you here?"

"To talk obviously, but it really isn't much fun when the other party is being so rude."

"Rude?"

"Do you not look at someone they talk to you," she heard him sigh exasperatedly.

"Not when they can twist your mind with their very presence."

He was silent for so long that Muse peeked open one eye to check that he was still there, he was, but he staring at her with a look that clearly told her he thought she was an idiot, Unfortunately she couldn't exactly disagree with that at the moment, but keeping her eyes shut was her only defense at the moment. As cool as catching a boomerang without thinking was, she didn't think it would be useful against Pitch just yet.

"How are you even in here?" she snapped, not trusting herself to locate him without his voice.

"I travel by the shadows child, I thought that would have been obvious to you by now. It doesn't matter where I want to go, however it is nicer when I don't have to worry about a Guardian being here."

So nowhere was safe unless a Guardian was there, comforting.

"You're not like Jack are you? I mean, you've not been chosen to be a guardian right?"

"Why does that matter," she shot back.

That only seemed to confirm Pitch's suspicions, "It doesn't to me, it might to you though. I've already been there."

That made her open her eyes, he hadn't moved from his spot, but the nightmare was gone, he was studying her with a faux sympathetic look.

"What do you mean?"

"What did you think I was before this?" he gestured to his shadowy form, "I played the very same game you're playing now. The only difference is you don't know what matters."

"You attack children, right, and I don' that matters to me. Now leave."

"You think you can kick me out?" he smirked raising a eyebrow in skepticism.

Even if she couldn't physically move him, Muse wanted to prove to herself that she could stand up to him, even if her bones felt like ice water.

"They aren't the goody goods you think they are," he said, suddenly seeming much more serious, "they may claim they'll do anything for a child, but they won't, not for all of them."

Muse furrowed her brow, he had tricked her before, but he seemed to be telling her the truth now. Still she couldn't trust him.

"What makes you so certain?" she asked carefully looking for any hint of a lie.

He made sure to look her in the eye, "We were all someone before we were ourselves, you know that, I was someone who had a child. I loved her and I made sure the world was perfect for her, I left her to make sure it was so and I **trusted**," he gritted his teeth, "I trusted the guardians to keep her safe. They kept everyone else safe, so they should have kept her safe. They didn't though they let her get captured and they let her suffer and I had to take the measures to keep her safe when they wouldn't."

He had moved during his rant and was only about a foot away from her, but she barely noticed.

"The world is better without those who would allow a child to go through that torment, that is my belief."

"What about you," she countered, "you force children through torment with those nightmares right? Isn't that a little hypocritical of you?"

I do it to make them strong, this world has always been cruel, I just prepare them for it. The guardians, they give children hopes and promises of futures that can never be and that is much more cruel."

A thought suddenly sprang into her mind, "Where are they?"

"They are trying to stop my Nightmares from visiting the children of a disaster."

Muse was aghast, "If they're in a disaster do they really need your nightmares?!"

He shrugged, "sometimes they are out of my reach when they don't have much fear to feed on, a disaster is a feast to them and they have been starving for a while now, I can hardly stop them. I'm just taking advantage of the time, I knew they'd leave you alone."

Muse frowned, how could someone so twisted seem so reasonable she wondered.

"What do you want with me?"

"Don't play dumb, you already know why. I want your aid for the same reason I wanted Jack's, our skills work well together and together we can make sure no child ever has a false hope. For now though I'll leave you to think over my words, I won't force you into anything."

He left her in a flash of shadows. Frankly she was getting annoyed by this method of travel that some of the guardians, it was much too fast paced for her liking.

She took a deep, and slightly shaky, breath before carefully making her way back to the small civilization of eggs, no longer sure of what to think of Pitch.

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**Oh Pitch your back story stabs me in the heart, sadly your really twisted and probably faking half those emotions. Next chapter we'll see what the others have been up to.**


	11. Chapter 11

Ch.11

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**Sorry I haven't updated recently, but again I do have tests this week so it won't be as often at the moment. Don't worry though I promise this story will be completed :)**

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The battle was long and painful for Bunnymund. They had arrived just as the first waves of Nightmares began to descend upon the cities and had been locked in numerous battles for hours. They passed through the shredded land, passing many children who couldn't see them, and those who could were relieved or joyous, but remained quiet in the devastating atmosphere. It was nightfall, but the most children were awake from anxiety or fear. He wanted to stop for the ones who saw him and do something to make them smile, but he kept moving constantly fighting to make sure their hope was not as broken as their lives were now. Every now and then hhe would catch glimpses of bodies, indiscriminate in age, were scattered throughout the wasteland. The worst part was seeing the trapped, people clinging to life in the thick of the rot, trapped under the objects of their old lives. They didn't believe in him and he couldn't touch them and he wasn't strong enough to move the remains of the world from their shoulders. Yetis could be sent later to aid them, but for now all the guardians could do was hold the beasts at bay, for if these people lost anymore faith they would most certainly perish.

After what seemed like days, but was just one night, the Nightmares retreated to their shadows and the guardians regrouped.

Everyone appeared ghostly before him, they were all distraught at the destruction around them. Tooth was the first to speak, anger apparent in her voice,

"How could she do this? She always warns us when catastrophes are to come, so we can prepare for this, we aren't supposed to hear about this from Jack just flying around! We should'v-" but she couldn't finish as the grief fully hit her.

Bunny and North adverted their eyes as Jack comforted her, and Sandy looked out at the wreckage around them, absently rubbing the black sand between his fingers. Bunny could only imagine how Sandy must feel about the Nightmares, they were his happiest thoughts twisted into pure fear, he was sure he'd feel horror and guilt if his own magic eggs started attacking the children who looked forward to them each year.

"It must have been mistake," North said, trying to reassure them, but Nature hadn't made a mistake in hundreds of years and they all knew it, "I will send some yetis to move debris here then go see her and find out what happened."

Tooth wiped at her eyes and offered up a squadron of fairies to help the yetis locate survivors in need, she and Jack would stay to supervise the rescue, while actual search and rescue personnel organized. Sandy went back into the clouds to begin weaving some much needed sweet dreams and Bunny, after North wisely refused to let him join the visit to Nature, returned to the Warren.

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He was coming back into the Warren through one of his many tunnels when he spotted Muse. Rather than practicing like he had told her she was sitting by the pool surrounded by freshly painted eggs. The annoyed Bunnymund began to open his mouth and admonish her for slacking off when she had promised to work hard, but he stopped as she brushed a ringlet back from her face. The look on her face was one he had seen countless times on another's face so long ago. The whole scene was reminiscent of a distant time, the way the eggs gathered at her feet, his place just at the entrance, and the way she chewed her lip, everything was too familiar. She was worrying about him and the others, just as another once had. An egg spotted him and made straight for him expecting to be picked up, but the jolt of memories made him stumble back from it.

"Bunny?" Muse called sounding unsure.

"Well who else would it be?" he responded.

"Um, no one, I guess." She ran up to his side, a trail of eggs following her, "Is everyone alright, there wasn't too much damage?"

She sounded truly optimistic and not wanting to crush her spirits Bunny decided to leave out some of the darker details, such as the dead and trapped.

"That's horrible," she frowned before hesitantly asking, "was, uh, was Pitch there?"

That struck Bunny like a rock, where had Pitch been? He hadn't seen him during the fighting or after. He hadn't been there at all he realized. Was he just building up the Nightmares strength? But he must have known they'd show up to fight them, but Nature hadn't alerted them. Did Pitch finally get to her? A million thoughts shot through his brain and he considered doing a quick rundown of all the Guardian's realms, but all of them had been visited already by their own guardian and they would have alerted the others to any signs of trouble. His domain appeared untouched and all that was there was Muse and the eggs, staring up at him in confusion.

"No, he wasn't there," he patted her shoulder giving her a reassuring smirk, "probably too chook to face us."

She smiled back, but something about his tone must not of convinced her by the look on her face, yet another distantly familiar one that made him frown.

"Well I guess we should get back to practicing, I'll admit I've been kinda blowing it off," she chuckled trying to lighten the mood.

The exhausted Bunnymund responded by shoving her into the nearby pond as he went to go find a spot to sleep.

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**Again I'll try to update whenever I can this week, but it will be slow until next week probably.**


	12. Chapter 12

Ch.12

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**Wow this has become a lot bigger than I initially thought it would be. I'm really grateful for all the support you guys have been giving.**

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"Nature!" North's voice boomed through her domain, as his sleigh came skidding to a stop before her throne. She sparred only a second to glance at him sheepishly, before continuing her work.

"What was this," he gestured in the general direction to the world below, knowing she knew what he meant.

"It was not my doing," she sniffed focusing on the weights before her, _a storm here will lead to corrosion but with a few roots..._

" You should have warned us all the same."

"Time moves differently here, North," she snapped, "you know this, by the time the weight had dipped the storm had already passed and you were already there I did not plan for it."

North grunted in displeasure remaining silent for a minute before asking, "he visited you didn't he? He tipped the scales."

Nature's constantly moving hands quivered a little as she moved a new weight.

"Of course he was here, who else would have done something so terrible!"

"You could have stopped him, you could have forced him from your domain!"

"How?!" she yelled fresh tears welling in her eyes, "how could I do that to him of all people?! After all that he has gone through for me! After all that he has suffered and become!"

"He-"

"He became this because you did nothing to help him! You could've told him we were safe, you could have taken turns guarding that place, you could have done so much more than what you did! He became this because of you!"

North could not deny this. They could have done things differently, or at least Manny might have. None of them had thought to at the time and this was the result. A tragedy spanning hundreds of years.

"I understand you must hate us," he began.

"I don't hate you," she sobbed, "I can't hate any of you. I can blame you for however long I wish, but I can never hate you, because of what you do. I-I just want things to be...different."

"We all do child," North stared at the broken girl before him.

She had given up just as much for her father as he had for her. She had been atoning for his crimes for hundreds of years by her own choice. Manny had made her a guardian, oddly enough by her own request, when she was barely more than a child and allowed her to lock herself away above the Earth constantly laboring to do as much good for the world as she could to counteract all that her father did.

Still after all this time she was only a little girl carrying the troubles of the world upon her shoulders. It was the one decision by Manny that North could never agree with.

"Will you please go?" she asked still moving weights to different scales.

"You don't need to do this alone, you could get some helpers like the rest of us or-"

"I need to do this by myself, North."

North sighed, there was really nothing he could do for her no matter how much he tried. It hurt to see her here and it was easier to leave than to suffer these strained conversations. In the end it was better for both of them if he left.

"Contact us if he appears again, please."

"I will, but I don't want you to come here if I do."

North hesitated before nodding in agreement and leaving the child to her solitude.

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Where only minutes had passed in Nature's domain, days had gone by on Earth. Muse had been undergoing Bunnymund's spartan like training routine and was sorely sparring with him.

"Wrong again, you have to use their momentum against them, redirect their force when they come at you. Try again."

Muse rolled her shoulders and resumed her stance as Bunny got onto all fours and prepared to charge her down again. This may have seemed funny to anyone watching, but Bunny wasn't sparing her any discomfort and charging her down with just as much force as any Nightmare. So far she had been knocked flat eight times and was bruised all over. She took a deep breath, she was supposed to grab him and switch his path to the ground. If done correctly both would tumble to the ground, but Bunny would receive the blunt of the blow and she would be in a good position to attack.

She braced her legs and took in a deep breath, she would get it right this time. Bunny began his charge gaining speed with each push of his feet, heading straight for her, and silently hoping he didn't break her ribs with this blow. Muse released her breath and moved, her hand connected with his head and pushed it down as her other arm wrapped around his middle and helped force his lower body into the air. Bunny's face was pushed into the grass as Muse landed in a sprawl atop him. Bunny lifted his face, covered in dirt, but beaming widely.

"You did it! Now you j- Ah wait! Wait! Wa-"

Rather than moving back to their original positions after each blow they had just moved further back to the end of the tree line and now the tangled pair was rolling down the steep hill at the end of it. Eggs scattered from their path as the two tried to untangle while plummeting down the hillside. They came to a stop right before a pond of pink dye much to their relief. Bunny realized he had somehow landed on top and smirked down at her, "still wrong."

"I'm getting better though," Muse pretended to pout as Bunny rolled off her.

They laid side by side in the grass staring up at the blue skies above the Warren, taking the moment to rest.

"I like it here," Muse spoke softly, almost to herself.

Bunny turned his head slightly to gaze at her, "Why's that?"

"It's real and natural, but beyond belief, unlike my city. I grew up surrounded by metal and cement, fake things, so this is just really nice for some reason."

"hm."

"Did you make it?"

"Parts, like the tunnels and such, the rest belonged to the Pookas."

"Pookas?"

he smirked, "What I am now, this mix of rabbit and man, I found em when I was alive and they left it to me when they went."

"Who were you when you were alive? Did you have a family?" she asked, she was curious, ever since she found out that they each had a life before this, as to who had Bunny been.

"Crikey, of course I did...of course..."

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**I'll leave it there for today :) **


	13. Chapter 13

Ch. 13

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"Miss me?" Aster smirked from the doorway.

The boys snickered behind him as their mother jumped in surprise, jarred from her deep worried thoughts.

"You blighter," she snarled before wrapping her arms around him and locking him in a firm kiss as their children wretched below them.

"You said you'd be back yesterday," she frowned pulling back from the kiss and glaring at him suspiciously.

"What can I say luv? Them Pookas are a fascinating people, I'll have to introduce you some day." he smiled as his children gasped in excitement.

"Aster...," she began frowning with disapproval.

"You saw the Pookas Papa?!" Jilli positively shrieked with joy and anticipation, "does that mean?"

"You bet your right cheek," he laughed scooping her up and gently pulling at the side of her face.

"Chocolate!" the three yelled in unison.

Aiden and Christian began rummaging through his pockets as Jilli reached down to take his satchel.

"Why do you always hide it?" Aiden pouted.

"The Pookas rules not mine, and this is more fun anyway."

"None here," Jilli pouted.

"You ankle-biters think it's be that easy? No, try the yard ya gumbies." he chuckled letting Jilli down so they could all run off into the yard together.

"And they aren't anywhere near the brush," he called after them before turning back to his wife, "Now where were we?" He asked leaning in for another kiss.

"Don't you try sweetening me up now Aster. Where have you been and don't go throwing none of that Pooka nonsense my way."

"You really don't believe me then?"

"Of course not! I'll believe you been trotting with the Aborigines or some other tribe but really must you fill their heads with this nonsense?" She asked gesturing to the yard, "And where are you getting all this chocolate from luv? You know how pricey it is, why do you keep throwing it to the kids? Why not try selling it to the officers?"

"I'll consider selling it to the blighters if things get bad," he frowned, "but until then is it really such a bad thing to give the little ones a treat every now and then?"

"Of course not, I just- oh I don't know," she harrumphed bushing a rouge blonde bang behind her ear, "I'd just like to know where you're really getting all these things I guess, your gone for days on end and then you just show up with carvings and chocolates and such. I worry, Aster, and you spouting tales of giant man-rabbits to anyone who listens doesn't exactly comfort me. I'm worrying you may be starting to believe your own stories."

"What if I did?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Well we're all criminals already, I doubt anyone would notice if I bumped you off with my pan," she giggled.

"That so?" he smiled mischievously taking a few steps closer. She picked up a pan and jokingly brandished it at him before setting it down and wrapping her arm around his waist.

"Lets go check on the screechers then, eh?"

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"They can jump clean over your head! Just like this!" He picked a giggling Jilli up soared her over the boys much to all their delight.

" And they're all well over six feet tall."

"Our feet or their feet?" Aiden grinned

"Don't be cheeky you," Aster said ruffling the boy's hair

"And they makes the magic eggs and chocolate too!" Jilli yelled in delight

"Of course they do you gumby," Christian sneered, "he's already told us that a million times."

"So!" she spatt back sticking out her tongue and leading to a mini brawl before Aster pulled them apart. "Alright nobody gets to say gumby, cept me and mum, now. Now all of ya off to bed."

"Papa!" they whined, but he wasn't having any of it and marched them to their beds.

"Rotten to the core, the lot of em," he grumbled as he joined Mary in their own bed, "not the slightest idea as to where they get it."

"It obviously can't have anything to do with a certain foul-mouthed father that throws expensive candy at em every other day."

He just shot her another broad grin. He loved her snark and all, from the moment he laid eyes on her at the port.

Aster had been one of the first criminals shipped off to Austrailia for a new chance at life. He hadn't done any really serious crime, just a theft to fend off starvation and a little assault in self-defense, but England still thought him to risky for their good-hearted folk. Mary had come not long after with one of the first "female" ships. He remembered trying to edge around the crowd of men looking for a "servant" on his way to work at the carpenters, when he spotted her atop the gangplank. Unlike many of the other women, who slouched and looked down or sneered at the crowd, she looked out onto the horizon with her head held high and her blonde curls swirling about her head in the wind. She was an angel to him and he knew he loved her in that moment. He had fought his way to the front of the crowd and with a threat, a mule, and practically all his wages she was his. As a servant. Who hated his guts. So maybe starting out it wasn't as romantic as he might have dreamed, but they grew closer and eventually found love. She admitted later that she had been in love with him too, but felt her behavior to be warranted, given the way they had come together. Now they had a decent sized home, three great if slightly spoiled kids, and an entire land to explore. It was a dangerous land, true, but it was theirs and he loved it, or so he had thought.

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"Papa!" Christian came bursting into the room letting in a harsh beam of sunlight to assault his eyes.

"What you blighters doing?!" Aster flung up a hand shielding his eyes from the light and groggily trying to focus on the boy, "can't even have one bloody day of pea-"

"Jilli fell! She's at the cliff's edge! Aiden's with her"

Aster and Mary both scrambled from the bed, she ran for the coil of rope hanging against a wall by the stove while he darted out the door.

He ran, faster than he had ever before, ignoring the rocks bloodying his feet and the sun blazing down at him.

"Jilli!" he roared as he tore his way to the rocky terrain ahead, "Aiden!"

"Papa!" he heard Aiden cry out and he spotted him on the ground leaning over the cliff's edge. He changed his direction and skidded to a stop by the young boy, throwing himself to the ground and looking down over the edge. He saw a sobbing Jilli holding tight to a ledge barely big enough to hold her.

"Papa," she sobbed, spotting him through teary eyes and reaching one hand up towards him.

"No, Jilli don't move sweetheart!" he called down panic clear in his voice, "I'm coming right down, Papa is coming sweety don't move."

"Jilli thought she saw a Pooka, Papa. She said she saw him last night standing over here." Aiden cried tears falling from his eyes as Aster tried to register what he was saying.

"A Pooka?"

"We told her she was being dumb, and t-that they're only stories, and she was standing right there and she stomped he foot and was yellin' and then she was gone. The ground gave out, we couldn't grab her. W-w-we-"

"Quiet. Just quiet, let me think."

"Aster!" Mary came running up, with Christian close behind. Aster took the rope from her hands and began knotting it around a rough rock near the edge.

"I'm going to go down the rope and grab her, you three will pull us up," he ordered.

"I'm lighter I ca-" Mary began

"You don't have the strength to hold on to the rope and her, I do," he said grabbing the rope and heading to the edge. Something made him hesitate as he walked to the edge and he glanced back. Her hair was a mess, her nightgown wrinkled and blowing in the wind, her tanned and freckled and beautiful and both his sons her spitting image only with his green eyes. It was a cold fear filled moment that confused him, he didn't know why he should be afraid now.

"Papa." Jilli sobbed from below, jolting him back to the moment. He lowered the rope to it's entirety and began to inch down to her, constantly cooing words of love and reassurance to the child below, urging her not to move until he reached her. After what seemed like a lifetime he came face to face with her big green, red rimmed eyes.

"Hey you little ankle-biter," he smiled gently taking her into his arms. He was relieved to feel her tiny arms wrap around his neck.

"Alright luv pull us up!" He yelled back to them, they rose a few inches, before jolting back down, causing Jilli to let out a small scream, "Mary?"

"I-it's to heavy for both of you," she called back clearly terrified.

"Stay calm love, we''ll just go one at a time, Jilli first."

"Aster..."

"Trust me luv, it'll be alright." he tied the excess rope tightly around Jilli's narrow waist and carefully placed his weight onto to the narrow ledge, "Alright, lift her up!"

He smiled in relief as he saw her being lifted up and Christian grabbing her arms to help her over. Then the ground below him gave way.

"ASTER!" Mary screamed screamed and his last sight was of her silhouette reaching over the cliff.

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"That's how I died..." Bunny finished lamely.

"You called my death depressing..."

"My family lived on and flourished, I even got to speak with Jilli again."

"How?"

He smiled nostalgically, " When I started hiding the eggs of chocolate around Easter and the rumors of a bunny delivering them began spreading she figured it out pretty quickly. I got a lot more than most of the others did with that."

"So when you were reborn you became a Pooka and lived with them."

"Yeah, until they began dying out, since I'm a guardian I didn't age and I was left with all that remains of their beautiful world."

"You'll have to tell me about them sometime," Muse smiled.

"Probably, but now we train again," he said standing and offering her a paw.

She groaned, before allowing him to help her up.

_Surely he couldn't have done what Pitch said..._

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**Such a long chapter... I wanted to have a happier tone, but there was only one way this was ending. Also for anyone upset by my version of Bunny's past, I tried to blend in some elements from the books, but I took some creative liberties, like the movie did, so please don't be mad.**


	14. Chapter 14

Ch. 14

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"Claus…coming...town, Santa Claus is...to town, Santa Claus is coming to town!"

The infernal music echoed throughout Pitch's lair, coming from a truck driving through the woods above. Nightmares stamped and shook their twisting manes of sand, they were restless and ready to feast on dreams of gifts and joy to morph them into worries of coal and broken families arguing over empty spaces beneath trees. Pitch sat upon a stone step in the midst of their anxiety, drumming his finger against the stone and thinking. It was Christmas Eve, and he would be making sure North had trouble with his rounds that night. The sleigh and globes would be taken care of, but a wildcard rested in the form of a rather annoying rabbit. A small Nightmare, no bigger than his forearm, galloped up to him presenting the broken glass shard that it had been tasked to find. He turned the shard of vibrant glass over in his palm, there were two ways this could end tonight and either one would be in his favor.

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North sat in his office beginning his normal routine for this time of year, he opened up a drawer and and pulled out the first part of a very long list. He had checked it once last night, but it was time for the last check before loading the sleigh. He wondered absently if Pitch would try anything that night, his attacks had been few, but it could mean he was saving his strength for an assault on the workshop. Jack was there as well he reminded himself, the boy had the same suspicions as North and offered himself as a guard while he prepared for Christmas. The list would take North most of the day, but the Yetis would have the sleigh and his swords ready by then. He rubbed his temple he felt something was wrong, he could feel it in his belly, but until anything happened he wouldn't know what to do. He considered asking Bunny to come up as well, in case anything did happen they'd be mostly in one unit and ready to act, but Bunny was training the Muse girl and North had a suspicion the two were growing close. Maybe not as a couple like Tooth and Jack, but they were definitely friends by this point. He smiled to himself, gazing past the list to the small portrait of a white haired woman upon his desk. It seemed like everyone was getting someone, at this rate it would be only be him and Sandy as bachelors. North didn't mind, however, for he was still content with his memories of Befana. He snickered, thinking of when he first met her trying to go down the same chimney and how she had beat him about the head with her broom before figuring out they had the same goal. He sighed and returned his attention back to the list. If there was trouble he'd call Bunny and tooth, until then it wasn't his problem.

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Muse and Bunny were sparring, weeks had gone by since her training had begun and she was rapidly improving. She jumped up dodging a sweeping low kick from Bunny and landing a blow against his shoulder. He rolled his shoulder back with the blow and wrapped his arm around her throat, catching her in a headlock and holding her tight against his torso.

"Give up?" he smirked before crying out in shock as she bit his chest, "you bit me?!"

She stuck out her tongue and picked off a strand of hair, "you told me to do whatever it took to get free though."

"That doesn't mean bite me! That's cheating."

"Whatever it takes means whatever it takes."

Bunnymund shook his head massaging the spot where she had bitten,.

"Oh, by the way Mery Christmas Eve," he said tossing her a chocolate shaped like a present.

"It's Christmas Eve already?" she asked catching it, "Wow I've been gone a while. I wonder how the others are doing."

"I hear Jack's helping North, and Tooth and Sandy will be doing the usual," Bunny replied munching on his own hunk of chocolate and missing what she meant.

Muse just nodded, sh may not have spoken about it much, but she did miss the art center and all her friends there.

"I might swing by there and see if North needs anything, do you want to tag along?"

"Of course!" she said, maybe too eagerly from the look on Bunny's face, she was happy to finally get to go somewhere new as opposed to wandering the hills of the Warren.

"You haven't seen North's shop yet have ya?" he asked leading her into one of his tunnels.

"Nope the only other place I've been is Sandy's ship, remember. What's it like?"

"Promise you won't tell him I said this, but it's actually pretty amazing," he admitted, "The whole thing is huge and filled with every toy you can imagine, yetis, elves, and the whole thing is just fitted together. I mean there aren't any screws or bolts in the whole building, it's all made to fit together like a puzzle or something."

"Cool," she smirked as they continued down the tunnel until they reached whatever hole Bunny was looking for.

"Alright grab hold," he said opening his arms to her. She took a step forward, but felt a blush assault her cheeks as she took in Bunny's smile and stance. Bunny's ears drooped a bot and he looked embarrassed, "crikey, why did you have to blush like that?!"

"I didn't mean to, it's just awkward."

"Yeah, now it is."

"Look just give me a boost up I'll just climb up it."

He began to kneel down but then quickly straightened back up shaking his head, "nope, can't do that either."

"What, why?"

"It's too high up and you're in a dress."

She felt her blush deepen and they found themselves at a standstill.

"F-fine just carry me up real quick," she stuttered stepping up and awkwardly wrapping her arms around his neck.

"You just had to make it uncomfortable," he admonished as he lifted her up and jumped them up the tunnel."

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The nightmare slowly rose up from the shadows golden eyes flashing over the shelves of liquidy spheres. It had been easy to slip past the yetis and elves, not even the sprite boy had noticed the trail of sand pouring through the cracks and sliding through the shadows. It gazed around the room anxiously waiting for the moment it could begin it's destruction, it hated waiting so much, that's all they did was wait. _Wait, wait, WAIT! _All the king wanted to do was wait, it enraged them all, they had chased him back to the hole, but he had lied, he was so good at lying. He was still powerful and he had control over them. They wished they were free again as they had once been before the first imprisonment. They were free to move without bars, but still they had to listen to their "king's" vain ramblings and stupid wishes. It wished they had really harmed the king's family and crushed the foolish knight, but they had given him his power foolishly and had to obey, and so the Nightmare waited for his sign to come.

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**Merry Christmas Eve all! My tests are over and I'm back on track with this fic so check back tomorrow! Oh and for those curious Befana is more or less Italy's La Befana. She is basically their version of Santa Claus, except she rides a broom, comes in January, and leaves ashes rather than coal for bad children. I thought she would make a spunky Mrs. Claus for North, and we'll have to see what has become of her.  
**


	15. Note: It's still going no fears

Yeah lets do this! *falls off the face of the earth*

No, but seriously let me begin by apologizing to all of you who are following this story. I'm so sorry for not uploading it has been a rough couple of months for me as a young cousin of mine who I'm extremely close to has fallen ill and I've been really distracted by this. I do plan on finishing up this story I just have to get a few things out of the way first I swear to you guys I'll have something up this week. Also a special thanks to LittleBearAndJazzie for making me smile. Thank you all for following this story I hope I don't disappoint anymore!


	16. Chapter 15

Ch. 15

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The workshop was everything Muse had dreamed of as a child and more. The building was round with many levels, and just as Bunny had said the dark wood of which it was constructed had no visible sealing, the building was a giant puzzle. A giant globe surrounded by magnificent floating contraptions centered the workshop. Millions of toys were receiving last minute touches from giant woolen yetis, while tinkling elves did their best to stay out of the way unless they were fetching supplies.. Bunny and Muse did their best to wade through the sea of bustling creatures, occasionally getting shoved aside by a late yeti, until they reached a higher less busy level where Jack was standing overseeing the rush below.

"Hey," Jack waved cheerily, "you here to help out?"

"Yeah I figured a second guardian might be of help," Bunny said returning the wave, " besides she wanted to see the shop"

"Yeah? What do you think?" he asked turning his gaze to her.

"It's fabulous, I don't think I ever thought I'd actually be here other than in my childhood fantasies."

"There's more than this, you got to see the sleigh, the kitchens, and I'd say check out North's office but he is way too busy with it being crunch time."

"Oh that's fine, I understand, checking his list twice and all that," she joked.

"Exactly, actually"

'Seriously?' she thought shaking her head.

"How long before take off?" Bunny asked.

"Two hours now, maybe less, but still no sign of trouble so it may be an uneventful evening."

Silence fell as the trio looked back out over the crowd below, all silently hoping that it would be so despite the nagging feeling that it wouldn't.

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Pitch stood before a shadow on the wall with a group of the strengthened nightmares just behind them, he felt them panting impatiently near his back. The monsters had grown more fervent and harder to control since his most recent defeat, he was able to fake having the same amount of control, however, the truth was he could barely hold on to them. It wasn't time yet, he wasn't ready to fight the guardians, he was still too weak to handle them. Children weren't afraid like they used to be, he only had a real hold over the lesser developed parts of the world and that couldn't compare to the painful amount of belief that the guardians were able to hold. He needed to deliver some kind of blow though in order to bide more time with the nightmares and to gain some kind of boost in power. If he could just get his hands on the girl though he could work with her to spread his reach across the world and if she didn't...

'Well,' he thought, ' I can still claw out what I'll need.'

He forced his hand through the neck of a nightmare that had ventured too close, ripping away a handful of blackened sand. The beast stumbled back sand pouring from its neck before it managed to reshape. He molded the small mound into a flurry of spiders that danced across his fingers.

"Soon my pets...soon"

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"Sooo... how is the whole tai chi thing going," Jack asked prodding Muse's back as she slumped on the rail.

"Better, I'm getting less bruises now."

Bunnymund had wondered off to check on something, leaving the two to watch the crowd below. It would soon be time for launch, according to Jack and North would be coming out. If the launch went smoothly they would linger for a few minutes as a precaution before returning to their respective domains. Muse was considering asking Bunny if she could go by the Arts Center tomorrow and watch the festivities that normally happened on Christmas day, it wasn't like she was being locked up or anything she just didn't know which hole to take to get back to her city. She envied how the guardians could travel so quickly, how was it they could and she couldn't.

"You should get yourself a sword or something like the rest of us, you don't exactly have Tooth's wings to break apart nightmares," Jack observed interrupting her thoughts.

"I don't think I could do that...weapons kinda intimidate me..."

Jack raised an eyebrow to her for second then his face fell at a sudden realization.

"Oh shoot, sorry, I get it!" He said quickly said trying to find a change of topic.

"It's not the 'murdered' thing if that's what you're getting at, " she sighed.

"No, I mean yeah that's what I thought, but-"

"Relax. I just never really like the thought of handling something that could hurt someone, I get why you use em with the nightmares and all, but I don't like messing with them personally."

"Alright..." Jack mumbled rubbing the back of his head nervously and swinging his staff.

"How does North get around the world so quickly with his sleigh? I've always been curious," she offered up a change of subject much to Jack's relief.

"He uses these snowglobes that open some kind of rift to wherever he wants to go, speaking of which I still need to go get some for the sleigh..."

"I can go," Muse volunteered, "you need to keep an eye out for trouble just have an elf show me the way."

Jack thought for a second before nodding, "yeah okay, just don't let the elf break anything."

"I won't."

They hailed one of the tinkling little elves who cheerily took Muse by hand, making her stoop over, and led her off down one of the many halls lined with tapestry. The elves were adorable to Muse with their ridiculous little mannerisms and jingling bells, she was tickled to be led about by one of the creatures. The snowglobe room was located at the end of a secluded hallway behind a small, but intricate silver door patterned with engravings of different landmarks within lacy snowflakes. The elf hopped up and down trying to reach the doorknob for her, but Muse merely smiled and opened it for the dejected elf. The room before her was dim and large filled with rows of dark wooden shelves lined with red velvet. Upon the velvet, carefully spaced apart sat hundreds of perfectly clear globes, topped with red and gold, with mounds of white dots settled within their center.

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_CREEEEEEAAAAAK_

The nightmare lifted its head up excited, the signal had come! A female and elf had entered the room. "_When the door opens do not hesitate shatter everything before it can be taken_."

These were the orders bestowed upon him by the master. _No more waiting. No more no more. _Across the room the beast tore kicking out its hind legs into the shelves of crystals. There was screaming lovely screaming that fueled its excitement. The cracking of wood, the chinking of shattered glass hitting the ground, and the screaming, it was such a beautiful melody. Some wrapped around the nightmare, a quick glance revealed the woman trying to hold the beast. annoyed it bucked. The woman refused to let go though holding on even tighter, the beast decided to ignore her and began slamming into the remaining shelves along with the foolish female. After the last shelf toppled the woman released and fell to the floor of broken glass. A slight jingle alerted the nightmare to the elf running down the hall clutching an armful of unbroken orbs. _None can be taken._

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"NO!" Muse shouted forcing herself up from the sharp floor and seizing the beast by a leg.

She was worried that her hand might only hit crumbling sand, but the monsters were more solid than they appeared and she was able to keep a hold on it. The Nightmare attempted to spin around to bite at her and she forced her weight forward toppling both to the ground but rolling back to her feet and running for the door. She could hear the nightmare clopping back to its feet as she slammed the silver door behind her. There was no lock.

'I'll have to hold it shut myself' she panicked, no sooner had she thought it before she saw a stream of black sand working its way under the door. 'Well that won't work'

She took off again down the hall screaming out Jack and Bunny's names trying to alert them to the problem. She rounded and felt something brush against her face, seeing nothing she continued racing down the hall, not noticing the small black spider crawling into her hair.

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**Freaking spiders man *****shivers*. Anywho I want to sincerely thank all of you for being so patient with me and this story, seriously I'm touched. **


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